


Fall 2037 - a FiCON Headcanon

by REDDuke62



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: FiCON Headcanon, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-28
Updated: 2018-09-28
Packaged: 2019-07-18 19:02:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16124756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/REDDuke62/pseuds/REDDuke62
Summary: Oliver's quiet morning in the statehouse gym is interrupted by Thad DeWolfe the Third





	Fall 2037 - a FiCON Headcanon

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Pieces of Always](https://archiveofourown.org/works/8220479) by [Bre](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bre/pseuds/Bre), [So_Caffeinated (so_caffeinated)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/so_caffeinated/pseuds/So_Caffeinated). 



> It is with a fair amount of trepidation (and So_Caffeinated's approval) that I am posting this. This is a follow-up to [Pieces of Always, Chapter 73](https://archiveofourown.org/works/8220479/chapters/37010865). If you have not read it, then you should read it first.

Oliver disliked staying in the capital overnight but he found that sometimes it couldn’t be helped. Of course, having to stay because a pointless debate had gone on too long didn’t help. And last night’s debate had definitely been pointless in Oliver’s opinion. He was thankful that several of his colleagues had been with him and that eventually they had made headway on the bill in question.

Still, he was glad for the fitness center adjacent to the state building. He had always found that starting the day with a workout helped rid him of any residual tension from the previous day. He would have much preferred sleeping in his own bed and working out in the gym at home, but the well-equipped fitness center was a decent alternative when he did stay over.

He was nearly done with his routine when the door to the weight room opened. He was surprised; he rarely had company at this early hour, but it wasn’t unheard of. Still he was surprised to see Thad DeWolfe the Third enter the weight room. Oliver couldn’t remember seeing him here before and definitely not at this early hour. It was obvious that the younger senator engaged in some type of physical exercise, but Oliver had never pictured him in the weight room.

DeWolfe was fairly tall, probably had an inch or two on Oliver, but despite being nearly 20 years younger, he had nowhere near the muscle mass that Oliver still sported. Granted, Oliver’s extracurricular activities and the prep needed for that played into the difference between the two men’s physical appearance. Still, Oliver was sure that Thad hadn’t lifted weights in a long time, if ever; Oliver knew that he played in an intramural basketball league and he looked like he probably ran on a regular basis, given the definition in his legs.

The younger man had stopped just beyond the now closed door and was surveying the room. Oliver knew that he was trying to appear as if he was looking for a particular weight machine, but the subtle way he avoided looking in Oliver’s direction for a couple of minutes hinted at a different reason for the visit. Finally, the other man looked over at the section of the room where Oliver was recovering from the last set of reps he had completed.

When the younger man looked his way, Oliver offered a simple, “Senator,” before moving to the final stage of his routine. He settled into the machine and worked his way through his reps. He purposed dialed back on the energy he expended to hide the fact that he was not struggling at all with the routine. Not for the first time, he mused that both Felicity and Diggle would make fun of him for the relative easiness of his workouts away from home. He would feel compelled to explain that he couldn’t very well go all out like he did at home, but he still needed to explain why he was in such excellent shape. He could just picture the smirks on both their faces as they listened to him.

“Pretty impressive workout there, Senator,” DeWolfe offered as Oliver finished.

Oliver glanced at the man for a long moment before answering with a shrug. “I’m not getting any younger. This helps keep me going during long debates. Keeps my head clear.”

At one point, Oliver had respected the younger politician. He had been idealistic and driven to do the right thing. Gaining the majority leadership far earlier than he should have had changed the man, though. DeWolfe’s idealism now often competed with making sure he or his party got their way. Oliver had lost a lot of respect for the other man over time, but the stunt at the Queen Foundation Gala had been the final straw. Oliver no longer was willing to give the man the benefit of doubt. There had been two or three issues over the past few months where he had openly opposed DeWolfe on the floor, even though he knew the other man expected him to side with him. Once, he thought DeWolfe was going to make an issue of it, but the younger senator had backed off when it became obvious he didn’t have enough support to make a stand.

Last night. Well, last night had been different. DeWolfe had obviously not been happy when Oliver and his colleagues had successfully argued for Oliver’s latest anti-crime bill. Oliver had his staff looking into why exactly DeWolfe was so opposed to the bill, but so far they hadn’t come up with much. He and his office were frustrated enough that Oliver had flirted with the idea of letting Felicity do her thing, but he wanted to avoid that if at all possible.

“You know, I’m not sure you’re thinking clearly about this latest anti-crime initiative, Senator.”

Oliver looked at the other man appraisingly, similar to how the Arrow often stared down a foe. DeWolfe’s opposition to a bill that clearly had benefits across the board suddenly raised a lot of questions that Oliver hadn’t considered before. Apparently the look succeeded in disconcerting the other man, because he broke eye contact and glanced around the entire room before coming back to Oliver.

“I assure you, Senator, I am absolutely clear in my thinking,” Oliver said in his most uncompromising voice. “Even if I and my staff hadn’t spent more time and effort on researching how to make this bill more effective than anything else I have ever worked on, I am one hundred percent convinced this bill is what this state needs. And quite frankly, I find it hard to believe that anyone who is interested in both controlling crime and giving those that deserve it a second chance would oppose this measure.”

Oliver could see the younger man flinch momentarily under his low but uncompromising tone.

There was a hesitation before DeWolfe responded. “Yes, well, I have some constituents who don’t agree. And I happened to see their side of the argument.” His voice grew stronger as he spoke, but Oliver could see how he was now forcing his confidence.

“So you said last night, but you never offered any more of a specific argument than what you did just now. I would hope you have had enough experience by now to know that I am not swayed by empty arguments, nor am I particularly interested in listening to anonymous constituents using their representative as a mouthpiece. If you want me to see your side, you’re going to have to offer me more than what you have.”

Somewhere along the line, DeWolfe had developed the skill to cow his opponents with a few words and a stern appearance. Oliver had watched him use it time and again, especially in the last year, to get what he wanted. But the younger man was only now figuring out that Oliver was not affected by that particular approach. It definitely wasn’t working now. It hadn’t worked during the debate last night, nor at any time in the past, and the young senator was getting frustrated.

Oliver had long ago learned to look for and recognize tells in other people. The talent was part of his hard won survival skills, though nowhere near as obvious as some others. Oliver guessed that the other man didn’t even realize how much he was telegraphing his emotions right then. It was the way he bit at his lower lip and the tightness across his shoulders. For some reason he didn’t want to reveal too much about his constituents, but Oliver’s absolute refusal to buy into his bland excuse for opposing the anti-crime bill was getting to him.

To buy time, DeWolfe moved toward one of the standing workout machines. He situated himself as if he was going to use the machine, but Oliver could tell he was just formulating his response. Oliver could almost see the man weighing his options, still debating how little he could say to make his point. Or, Oliver realized, how much he had to say to defend his position.

“You know, I thought that after last spring, you and I would have a little bit more of an understanding, Oliver. That you would be a little more willing to work with me on certain things. I’m not sure that I feel that you’ve done that.”

Oliver just looked at the other man, appraising him again and wondering if he was as naïve as he sounded right now.

“Thad, have you ever seen me compromise my principles in any way? Did you honestly think that because you seemingly did my son a favor that I was going to start do so? Did you honestly think that I didn’t know exactly what you were up to that evening?”

Oliver was being casual in his questioning, but he still made it clear that there was only one answer to each question. It was that last question that produced a visible reaction from Thad, no doubt involuntarily. He recovered quickly enough, schooling his features into what was supposed to be an affronted expression.

“I’m not sure I like what you are suggesting, Oliver.”

“Good. Maybe that means that you still have some sense of right and wrong.”

There was a huff from the other man, but Oliver held up a finger signifying that he wasn’t done.

“It’s funny. When you and Amelia first started dating, Will was upset because he couldn’t understand why she would say yes to you and not to him. I didn’t presume to know or explain that, but I did defend you at the time. Back then your reputation was impeccable and I thought that you were one of the good guys. It’s been a while since I felt that. Since the Gala? Not a chance.”

Oliver could see the war of emotions flickering across the other man’s face: a hint of arrogance ready to defend himself alternating with the realization that Oliver Queen didn’t respect him. At all, apparently. Somewhere in there, Oliver was sure he even saw some fear.

“I don’t know who you’ve been listening to regarding the anti-crime bill, Thad. But I can assure you that there is no one in the Senate who has educated themselves more on this issue than me. I’m not trying to be boastful, but I’m sure it’s the truth. So when you tell me that your ‘constituents’ disagree with my position, I can only assume that it will hurt them in some way. And there are very few legitimate reasons to argue that stance in this case.”

Thad clearly didn’t have anything to say to that, despite Oliver giving him a couple of minutes to do so. Finally Oliver walked back over to where he had left his towel and water bottle. He picked the towel up and wiped off the sweat still on his face and ran the towel around his neck. He took a long drink of water. He did all of this as if he was once again alone in the weight room.

He had taken a couple of steps toward the door when the younger man finally spoke again.

“You know, Oliver, you talk a good game. And it’s easy to do that on the floor, but it’s not so easy when your constituents make it clear they expect you to get what they want.”

Oliver bowed his head, considering how to respond. Finally he looked up at Thad again.

“I’ve had it easy in one respect. It’s hard to be … swayed by someone looking to buy influence when you’ve always been richer than they are. I learned a long time ago it’s not worth giving in to those people because it’s never just one time and it really doesn’t matter after a while if they’re on the right or wrong side of the debate, because they only see what they want. They expect you to give it to them.”

DeWolfe scoffed at that. “My ‘constituents’ just know that your bill is going to cost them. And they know that you’re the source, Oliver. I wouldn’t take that lightly.”

Oliver continued to hold the other man’s gaze. “How much do you know about my background, Thad?”

The other man shrugged. “The basics, I guess.”

“So you know that I was shipwrecked when I was young. Spent five years learning to survive. I’ve never talked much about it, but I can assure you that the experience was much worse than I’ve ever publicly let on. There’s not much that scares me because I’ve probably faced something worse already and I have the scars to prove it.”

With that Oliver pulled off the sweat-soaked t-shirt he was wearing and just stood for a moment, letting Thad see the evidence of what he had been through.

“I’m a fighter, Thad. And I know how to win in order to survive.” He pointed to the shark bite on his side. “I’d tell you to ask the shark, but he’s not around to answer.” Oliver let the greater implication of that statement linger for a minute, then he pulled his shirt back on.

“I would say you have some choices to make, Thad. And while I appreciate the fact that you didn’t press charges that night against Will, you and I both know that you had as much to lose as he did. Putting yourself in that position was as risky as the position you put Will in. I don’t want you to think that I’m as easily confused as my son was that night, because I guarantee you don’t have nearly enough experience to come close to pulling anything on me.”

The other man was again silent and no longer willing to make eye contact. Oliver walked over to the door and opened it. Before he stepped through, he looked back at the younger man a final time.

“Have a good workout, Thad. You may find that you’ll see things more clearly afterward.”

**Author's Note:**

> This story would not have been possible without the inspiration and wonderful storytelling of So_Caffeinated and Bre. 
> 
> I have greatly enjoyed the entire of opus of Forever is Composed of Nows by Bre and So_Caffeinated. This was the first time that I fully envisioned my own side story, but Chapter 73 was particularly evocative. 
> 
> I have also thought that Oliver - canon!Oliver, fanfiction!Oliver, every Oliver that went through the island - would be very reluctant to be shirtless in public, but that when push came to shove, he would be willing to show his scars to the unexpecting to prove that he would never be a pushover. So my headcanon slid right into what I feel in an inevitable run-in between Oliver and Thad.
> 
> I would love to hear what you think.


End file.
